To help you choose between all the types of panoramic heads (cylindric, spherical or motorized), I created several case studies. Each time, I give you advice to make choosing easier... These different cases are:

About my commitment...

I give advice about equipment I'm familiar with, that I've used myself or during training courses.
In no way am I trying to please anyone or to choose the best price.I'd certainly want to guide you during the next forty years and this is my commitment...!

Very important preliminary information!

Two technical points matter to make the right choice (besides value for money, which I can't influence):

Stability if you make panoramas or virtual tours even when it's dark or windy;

The length of the rails to place your camera and lens at the entrance pupil (Nodal point). The lighter heads often have very short rails only suitable for rather light cameras, without grip and fixed focal lenses. Zoom lenses are seldom compatible with such compact heads!Example: A 24-70mm f2,8 Canon zoom lens can't be placed on the entrance pupil, even on a Nodal Ninja 6 at 24 mm.

1 - Stitch a one-range panorama with light equipment

If your camera/lens is not too heavy, the only problem is choosing: almost all panoramic heads on the market are spherical now and of good value for money, so you can even do multi-range panoramas.

Among all spherical models on the market, I have my favourites listed below but really, almost all heads can work in this case.

Provided that the lens isn't too heavy or bulky like wide-angle 24-70mm F2,8 zoom lenses, the nodal point is close to the front lens and the camera must be placed as back as possible. This creates a noticeable back overhang, prejudicial to the overall stability when the stage is long enough, which never happens with the two more compact heads listed below.

Of course, wind is annoying but think about intermediate exposure times like the vicious 1/15 sec.

Prefer fixed focals, more compact and often even better at the edges of the picture.

My purchasing advice

For light equipment, without bulky 24-70 mm F2,8 zoom lens, I recommend three spherical panoramic heads with which you can do about whatever you want, without technical limitations:

2 - Stitch a one-range panorama with heavy equipment

If your camera is heavy and bulky, I mean even a Canon 5D Mark III but with a 24-70mm F2,8 zoom lens or its equivalent by Nikon and you only want to shoot one range at a time, you're left with very less choice. In order to avoir extensive overhangs, prejudicial to the overall stability, you'll avoid almost all spherical heads with a few rare exceptions listed below. It's one thing to fit your equipment on your head at home, but it's a different thing to use it in the field when it's windy or with long exposure times for instance!

A few pieces of advice about cameras...

Heavy means to me: Canon 1DX..., Nikon D5, Pentax 645Z...

Come what may, avoid wide-angle F2,8 zoom lenses on spherical heads because you then have to set the camera as back as possible and thus have a strong back overhang except, of course, on the excellent Nodal Ninja Ultimate M1 or M2.

My purchasing advice

I recommend three panoramic heads. A cylindric one which earned its spurs and two very well manufactured spherical ones:

Manfrotto 303 or 303PLUS (cylindric),Nodal Ninja Ultimate M1/M2 (spherical) which will handle effortlessly your heavy equipment and will allow you to shoot even multi-range, and the excellent Cambo CLH 500 (spherical) that I just tested, more limited but excellent...

Caution! the Manfrotto 303 PLUS has a huge drawback: it can't be disassembled!

3 - Stitch a multi-range panorama with rather light equipment

If your camera/lens isn't too heavy, you only have to make your choice: almost all panoramic heads on the market are spherical now and sometimes of good value for money.

Among all spherical models on the market, I have my favourites listed below but really, almost all heads are suitable in this case.

Provided that the lens isn't too heavy or bulky like wide-angle 24-70mm F2,8 zoom lenses, the entrance pupil is close to the front lens and the camera must be set as back as possible. It creates a noticeable back overhang, prejudicial to the overall stability.

Of course, wind is annoying but think about intermediate exposure times like the vicious 1/15 sec.

Prefer fixed focals, more compact and often even better at the edges of the picture.

Why not a motorized head? Except for gigapixel projects, they're not that handy...

My purchasing advice

I recommend three spherical panoramic heads with which you can do about whatever you want:

4 - Stitch a multi-range panorama with heavy equipment

If your camera/lens is heavy and bulky and you want to shoot multi-range panoramas, you're only left with three options according to me. You need a really robust spherical head, as well as long enough stages to place the entrance pupil of your lenses and above all bright zoom lenses above the axis of rotation. It's one thing to fit your equipment on your head at home, but it's a different thing to use it in the field when it's a little windy!

A few pieces of advice about cameras...

Heavy means to me: Canon 1DX, Nikon D5, Pentax 645Z...

Come what may, avoid wide-angle F2,8 zoom lenses on spherical heads because you then have to set the camera as back as possible which creates a strong back overhang. If it's windy or you're shooting with intermediate exposure times (around 1/15 sec.), risks are high, even with the mirror raised, to get camera shakes. Unless you turn to the Ultimate M2-L version, even more robust and thought for gigapixel shots.

5 - Stitch a gigapixel panorama

To shoot a gigapixel panorama, it is of course possible to take hundreds of pictures manually with a spherical head - I did in the past on 1148 photos! But it's so much more convenient with a motorized head when the number of photos is really high!
When I achieved the old record Paris26gigapixels in 2010, I only had at my disposal one motorized head, a Klaus head. Since then the situation has changed, since numerous models are now available.

A few pieces of advice about cameras...

If you wish to realize a gigapixel with a medium format or with a heavy camera/telephoto lens combination, choose heads with two arms. It will be a lot more stable. Among manual heads, you should also give a serious thought to the incredible Ultimate M2...

Gigapan in particular makes three models of heads for all sizes of cameras, from the light point-and-shoot to the heavier medium format.

My purchasing advice

I recommend two motorized panoramic heads very well thought and a manual head:

Gigapan Epic Pro robust, with long battery life, accurate, and of excellent value for money. One of my favourites! Then I recommend the wonderful Roundshot VR Drive: manufacturing quality, accuracy, speed... The price is really worth the quality of the product. The manual head Nodal Ninja Ultimate M2 is also an excellent option for those who, like me, like to take in hand the panorama when the number of pictures is not too high, especially to look over it regularly...

6 - Create a virtual tour

A whole tutorial is dedicated to the creation of virtual tours in this The guide to panoramic photography: create a virtual tour

However, any photo can be turned into an interactive tour, even if it's been shot in a mono-range mode. Of course, virtual tours involve most of the time a complete sphere hence a spherical panoramic head.

A few pieces of advice about cameras...

I really don't recommend using a heavy and bulky camera to make a virtual tour.

Prefer Fisheye lenses, lighter, easier to carry and above all enabling to shoot a complete sphere with few pictures.

My purchasing advice

I suggest you read my pages dedicated to spherical panoramic heads in this tutorial Create a virtual tour but I'll start giving you advice right away:

7 - Create a panorama or a virtual tour using a pole

A whole tutorial is dedicated to the creation of virtual tours in this The guide to panoramic photography: Create a virtual tour

It's not unusual anymore to see virtual tours or panoramas taken from very original points of view, meaning from a height. When I'm talking about height, I'm talking really high! If you think about balloons or drones, I suggest you also consider another option a lot cheaper and less binding: a telescopic pole. For less than $700, you can buy a giant monopod, in carbon, very convenient to use and that can reach 6 meters high!

A few pieces of advice about cameras...

Any kind of camera can be considered, to the Canon 1 DS Mark III or Nikon D4.

However, prefer lenses that are not too bulky.

This solution can only work with short exposure times, unfortunately...

Bushman Panoramic Gobi

285,05 € *

My opinion on Bushman Panoramic Gobi

This new Gobi panoramic head, by Bushman Panoramic possesses at once three obvious assets: it's very well manufactured - materials and finishing -, it's very light since it only weighs 320 grs and it's super compact since it fits in your hand! It won't take a lot of space in your photobag or even in your pocket. It's not the more stable on the market but it's not necessarily a drawback for everyone...

Warning ! The length of the plates - 8.5 cm at the top and bottom - will not allow you to place all your lenses and especially your zooms at the entrance pupil. With fisheye this will be perfect.

Bushman Panoramic
Kalahari V2

477,95 € *

My opinion on Bushman Panoramic Kalahari V2 (Automne 2016)

The Kalahari V2 is the largest panoramic head of the Bushman Panoramic Society. This revision V2 - now tested - is to buy eyes closed as improvements and optimizations are numerous. A new reference head for boxes not too heavy. Attention zooms 24-70 mm f2,8 can not be positioned at the nodal point because the plates are a bit too short.

Nodal Ninja 3 et 6

from 223.26 € *

My opinion on New Nodal Ninja 3 Mark III and Nodal Ninja 6

Fairly light, the New Nodal Ninja 3 Mark III and Nodal Ninja 6 are spherical panoramic heads. The question of stability when placing the camera cantilever therefore arises. The New Nodal Ninja 3 Mark III (December 2017) is especially for compact cameras or light-weight models such as Canon Eos 760D, 70D or Nikon D7200 or D500. The model Nodal Ninja 6 is preferred if you with a Canon 5D Mark IV or Nikon D850. They are also particularly compact and well designed. So they really take up very little space in a camera bag. There are several rotators: Rotator Mini V2, RD-10 or RD-16.

Nodal Ninja Ultimate M1-L

640.99 € *

My opinion on Nodal Ninja Ultimate M1-L

These Nodal Ninja Ultimate panoramic heads are competing heads Manfrotto 303 SPH and Cambo CLH-500. I think they are spherical panoramic heads for heavy material references. Universal, very stable and very well manufactured and designed. Really very few defects or disadvantages.

Gigapan Epic Pro V

$850.00

My opinion on Gigapan Epic Pro motorized head

Gigapan motorized heads are among the best value for money on the market. They're quite easy to use, very pleasant and above all very powerful. Remarkable tools. The Epic Pro model comes with two vertical arms for more stability. To set up directly on a robust tripod. As for now, their main limit is the absence of radio or bluetooth remote control. But I notice that the firmware is regularly updated and available in different languages.

Nodal Ninja Ultimate R20

309.70 € *

My opinion on Nodal Ninja R20 Google GTP V2

The Google Street program or the telescopic poles need a very compact panoramic head. The R20 Nodal Ninja model has been designed for this. You buy at the same time as the lens ring that matches your fisheye lens and you get a very compact system.

Warning ! When buying a Nodal Ninja R20 panoramic head, be sure to choose the lens ring that matches your fisheye lens. There are lens ring for many fisheye lenses Canon, Nikkor or Sigma - Liste sur le site panosociety.com

VR Drive II Roundshot

2,944.00 €

My opinion on VR Drive II Roundshot

The VR Drive II motorized head from Roundshot, is built on a Novoflex basis, that's just showing how irreprochable the quality is. One of the best motorized heads on the market, which is also the more expensive!

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